This invention relates generally to improved merchandising apparatus, and in particular, to an improved display stand for supporting and displaying articles for sale to the public.
An important factor in successfully marketing or selling a product is the degree of attention directed to the product when it is displayed and offered for sale to the general public. The ease of accessibility of the prospective purchaser to the product offered for sale is also an important consideration.
When the product comprises a relatively small article, a plurality of the articles are normally supported and displayed together in a manner to enable a prospective purchaser to view the articles and select a desired one or more of them. For example, witness the shelves, display stands and counters in any store or facility displaying and offering articles for sale. See also, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,275,159 for displaying articles such as pressurized spray containers for paint or the like.
It is also important to the merchandiser that the support or display rack for displaying the articles be economical, easily adjusted or moved, and capable of being stored or shipped in a minimum amount of space.
Although many types of display racks and supports are known in the prior art, including that described in the patent noted supra, the prior art display racks and supports have one or more disadvantages. For example, the display device in the referenced patent is not readily adjustable or disassembled and occupies a large space during shipment or storage when not in use. Additionally, many prior art display stands are not well designed for displaying a particular product to best advantage. For instance, most stores and the like simply have a plurality of like or similar shelves and like articles are clustered together in selected areas. In these arrangements the articles quickly become intermingled with other adjacent articles. The above-referenced patent, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 3,198,338, both are attempts to provide self-contained displays for particular articles of like character. However, they have other disadvantages.